As part of its educational activities within the COOP4SAFE project, Aevis met with around 100 students of 2 high-schools in Snina located nearby the Poloniny National Park, to talk about one of the most iconic symbols of the Slovak wilderness, the brown bear.
On the occasion of the European National Parks Day, Aevis expert team, consisting of its educational expert and large carnivore expert, visited Snina High School to discuss one of the most important topics in nature tourism – human coexistence with large carnivores. As part of the lecture “When it comes to bears – do you know what to do?”, they looked together at:
• how bears live and their role in the ecosystem,
• the correct behavior when encountering a bear in the nature, and
• why is it important to replace fear with understanding.
Students were particularly interested in videos from camera traps from the ongoing monitoring in the project and from field trips. The lively discussion reminded students that respect and knowledge are the keys to safe coexistence between humans and wildlife – without panic and with understanding.
Another in a series of educational lectures entitled “About Bears and People” was held in September at the United Church School of St. Cyril and Methodius in Snina. Aevis´ educational expert gave an insightful presentation on brown bear including history of how the animal has been perceived to the present day, basic information and interesting facts about its life and behaviour, as well as videos from camera traps showing the everyday life of this large carnivore in the wild.
A lively discussion on how to prevent and minimize conflicts between humans and bears followed – e.g. students shared what experiences they have with bears, if they have ever seen a bear or any signs of its presence in the Poloniny Mountains. The youngsters were very interested in preventive measures, especially the use of shepherd dogs and information on the use of deterrent bear spray for tourists.
Additionally, given the recent developments and often heated debate around the topic of brown bears in Slovakia, Aevis organised two lectures for the public to present facts on bears, their occurrence and behaviour, enabled fruitful discussion on encounters with bears and gave recommendations on how to behave in nature to manage such situations well.
As a next step in 2026, Aevis looks forward to the field trips – educational excursions to the wilderness in the Poloniny National Park – for interested students to see and understand prevention activities and habitat for large carnivores. As part of the project, the international team has also been working on developing an educational guide on viable coexistence which is to be finalized and published in 2026.
